Stories in the series (in order):

The Lady for a Lady

No Easy Way

Sleeping Beauties

An Act of Betrayal

The Devil You Know

Demons

The Riddle of the Night

Thank to Hawke and turbos, they made it back to the Valley in time to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, by the time they put Airwolf to bed the sun had set and it was dark outside.

With Caitlin in the back of the jeep with the box, they drove back to Santini Air where Michael was waiting in his limo.

Hawke took the box from Caitlin before she jumped out of the jeep. Dominic sneezed.

"Bless you." Michael said as he instructed his driver to take the box. He thanked them, got into the limo, and the limo drove off.

"How much do you want to bet we're never going to find out what's in that box?" Dominic said. He sneezed again and both Caitlin and Hawke stared at him.

"I'm going home, all right." He walked off muttering something neither one of them could understand.

Hawke slung his arm over Cait's shoulder as they walked to their respective vehicles. "Are you still hungry for that burger?"

"I could eat," She said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Casa de Hawke has a nice menu. I can fix you a pretty good veggie burger."

Caitlin took the hand that was slung over her shoulder and held onto it as they walked to the parking lot.

Tet was barking up a storm when Hawke ran up his steps. Caitlin followed behind him, taking in the night and the full moon that danced its color along the lake.

"What's wrong with him?" Cait asked as she entered behind him. The question was answered by the squawking of the radio on the table above where Tet was having his fit.

Hawke picked up the receiver and patted Tet on the head. "I got it, buddy. You can go."

Tet waddled his way over to Caitlin who sat on the couch listening to Hawke talk to someone over the radio. It took her less than a minute to realize Michael was on the other end and there was trouble. When she heard the word 'contagion' and 'quarantine', she realized her Veggie burger wasn't going to get eaten.

Caitlin attended to Tet while Hawke spoke on the radio. Every once in a while, he would glance back at her with no expression on his face. Caitlin had two sandwiches fixed by the time Hawke was off the radio.

"How bad is it?" She asked as she set a beer in front of him.

Hawke explained over the sandwich and beer how the box they brought from South America possibly carried a contagion and they were to stay quarantined in the cabin until the threat was over.

Caitlin's next question was, "What about David?"

Hawke took a bite of sandwich and a drink of beer. When it was washed down, he said, "Michael had David and his men quarantined in South America and Dominic is being taken to the hospital. Because of his cold, doctors want to watch him more carefully."

"What about us?"

"We're stuck here until Michael calls us back with the results of the contagion in the box."

Caitlin grimaced.

"It's not going to be that bad, Cait. I've got books you can read, cards we can play, food we can eat. I'm not that bad at conversation either."

"Do I still have clothes here?" Caitlin asked, slinking out of her dress shoes.

"Upstairs in the top closet. Help yourself to the shower too."

Caitlin stretched when she stood and carried her shoes upstairs. Maybe spending this time with Hawke would be fun. She opted out of the shower and changed into the jeans and t-shirt she kept at his place for emergencies. When she came back down, Hawke was at the stove.

"I thought I would fix those veggie burgers," He told her.

They eased into conversation as they ate and washed dishes. When the chore was done, the conversation stilled and an awkward silence filled the air.